Personal responsibility is not only for gun owners

Listening to people debate gun control should remind all of us that in this country we can openly discuss our opinions. Our voice can be heard because the first amendment protects that right. Just as it protects “the right of the people to keep and bear Arms.”

As a responsible gun owner I think I can speak for many of us when we say we would agree with the previous editorial in saying gun ownership “carries a significant amount of responsibility.” Those of us in the gun “community” understand that. This sense of responsibility was past down to us by our fathers and from their fathers for many generations. Generations of Americans who believe in the Bill of Rights and who held it sacred and untouchable. We all need to stand firm on the principles and the vision of our founding fathers in this “great American experiment.”

Don’t believe the misleading rhetoric that the Bill of Rights was written in the past and that the current circumstances of this country warrant a change to those rights. It is in fact the opposite that is true. The current condition of this country is a result of the false belief we should change the constitution. We need to believe in it, follow it and hold it as the basis on which we form our ideals. It is today’s society, “we the people” who need to change.

If we allow a change to just one of the core principles of the constitution. What stops “them” or us, from eventually changing the first amendment and silencing us forever? It doesn’t matter if you consider yourself, liberal, conservative or middle roader. Once we concede just one of the basic principles established in the constitution we are at risk of losing them all. It is all of us who have the responsibility as Americans to hold all aspects of the constitution sacred. And it starts with our personal accountability in what we do, what we say and how we treat others. Stop blaming others (gun owner) for the current state of society. Own your actions and the consequence of them. Personal responsibility is everyone’s to bear; not just gun owners.